Mass Layoffs for the South Region
The South Region includes the South Atlantic Division (Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia), the East South Central Division (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee), and West South Central Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas).
Not surprisingly, most of the mass layoff events in the South region tend to occur in the densely populated South Atlantic division. However, in March of 2007 Kentucky was the only state in the South region to rank in the top five for new unemployment claims due to mass layoffs. Kentucky posted 6,623 new claims, and came in second for largest "over-the-year" increase in new claims.
In August 2007, the South had 21,452 initial claims, the second largest number initial claims due to layoffs of any of the four regions (West, South, Northeast, Midwest). Despite this significant increase, the South's number of initial claimants increased the least of any of the regions last month.
For more detailed information on the various divisions in the South region, follow the links below.